Former Justice Minister: Aharon Barak a 'judicial pirate'

Haim Ramon slams former Supreme Court president responsible for 'constitutional revolution' says court acts as 'tyrannical' political party.

"Aharon Barak is a judicial pirate because he robbed our parliamentary democracy," said former Justice Minister Haim Ramon on Sunday in Tel-Aviv about the former Israeli Supreme Court president who was responsible for Israel's "constitutional revolution."

Ramon said his remarks at the annual Zionist Human Rights Conference organized by the pro-Israel organization Im Tirtzu, which was held for the seventh consecutive year and focused on the impact of Israel's justice system on human rights.

Ramon, who held a number of ministerial portfolios for Labor and Kadima including vice prime minister, lambasted Israel's justice system, which he dubbed a "political party" and asserted that it acts in a "tyrannical" manner to impose its will on the elected government.

"According to the justice system the laws are recommendations and are not obligatory," stated Ramon. "The jurists tell the politicians: 'You need to do what I tell you. The citizens could vote for you 17 times, but you still don't get to decide.'"

Ramon also said that despite a clear law permitting Prime Minister Netanyahu to run with an indictment, the justice system is trying to reinterpret the law.

The conference also featured a panel with two Israeli minorities who lost their sons in terrorist attacks.

The bereaved parents, who were awarded Im Tirtzu's Zionist Prize for Human Rights, similarly lashed out against the justice system.

"The justice system always talks about the human rights of the terrorists – what about my human rights?" asked Issam Ottman, father of Youseff Ottman who was murdered in a 2017 terrorist attack.

"If I no longer can see my son, why should the families of terrorists get to see their children in prison? What deterrence do we have against these murderers when they see how they are treated so lavishly in prison?"

Former Labor party MK Shakib Shanaan, father of Kamil Shanaan who was murdered in the July 2017 Temple Mount terrorist attack, said that "the justice system does not give strong enough punishments to deter these evil terrorists."

"I demand a life sentence for every person killed," continued Shanaan. "But we will not be deterred by all these terrorists. I'm proud to be Israeli. There is no better place in the Middle East for Druze than in Israel," concluded Shanaan.